Sport
2 November, 2026
Malanda students shine
TWO students from Malanda will head off to the National Championships later this year after a spectacular showing at the recent Queensland Representative School Sports Track and Field Championships.
Malanda State High’s Miles Pearce and Malanda State School’s Charlee Barbagallo both brought home medals after taking on some of the best athletes in the state while representing their Peninsula division.
Pearce picked up a gold medal in the 14yrs Boys long jump with a strong personal best of 5.87m. He also took home bronze in the triple jump with a 12.14m effort.
“It felt incredible. I wasn’t expecting the win but I came in with confidence in the hard work I have put in this year, so I thought I might have a chance at a medal. It felt awesome to win it with a PB,” Pearce said.
Meanwhile, Barbagallo put the burners on to claim silver in the 11yrs Girls 100m and 200m dashes.
“I felt happy and proud of myself for achieving second in both my races,” she said.
The two Tablelanders will now look to the next stage of competition where they will come up against the best in the country for their respective events.
“I am thrilled to be competing at Nationals and I hope I can do well,” Pearce said.
“Winning in Queensland was a huge accomplishment. I know the competition will be harder, as there will be the top kids from every state in Australia, but I hope for the best.”
He was also grateful for his local athletics coaches.
“As a person from a small country town, we are lucky to have local coaches and opportunities here on the Tablelands like this, and I am thankful for all the people who have helped me with this achievement. I hope I have made them proud and have encouraged others to give Athletics a try,” he said.
Barbagallo said she’d won both races at last year’s State Championships, and at Nationals placed third in the 200m and sixth in the 100m, so she was looking to build on those previous efforts.
“I’m feeling both nervous and excited for Nationals. I’m looking forward to the experience and very proud to represent Queensland once again,” she said.
“Unfortunately I didn’t run my best times for both races in Brisbane, my final times were 13.39 for my 100m and 27.87 for my 200, but I have been training hard with my trainers, Kate from PB Running Academy and Laura from Tablelands Athletics, throughout the year and continue to hit new PBs. So hopefully I can bring another medal home.”
Pearce will represent North Queensland at the Australian All Schools Track and Field Championships in Perth from 4-6 December, while Barbagallo will compete at the School Sport Australia 10-12yrs Track and Field Championships in Melbourne from 29 November-3 December.
Other local students will also contest their respective National competitions including; Tolga’s Laura Cavanagh, who placed third in the 17yrs Women’s 2,000m steeplechase; Atherton’s Zane Hook, who won the 18yrs Men’s high jump; Tolga’s Gabrielle Rohde, who placed second in the 12yrs Girls high jump; and Atherton’s Blair Green, who placed third in the 11yrs Boys 4x100m relay team.
